All Society of Pension Professionals articles – Page 3
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News
Schemes to spend £1.5bn on GMP equalisation past transfer top-ups
New research from Buck suggests the bill for equalising guaranteed minimum pension benefits in past defined benefit scheme transfers continues to grow, with at least £1.5bn needed for schemes to top up these historic transactions.
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NewsPensions dashboards’ 2023 target ‘under threat’
The target date of 2023 for the introduction of the pensions dashboards is under threat from a lack of clarity in several key areas, the Society of Pension Professionals has warned.
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TPR pledges guidance after royal assent for Pension Schemes Act
On the go: The Pensions Regulator welcomed the Pension Schemes Act receiving royal assent on Thursday, with chief executive Charles Counsell looking forward to the “strong package of measures” it provides and pledging guidance for how they will be used.
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PodcastsPodcast: New powers in Pension Schemes Act could cause bankruptcies
Podcast: New criminal provisions in the Pension Schemes Act are so broadly drafted that they could strangle legitimate business activity, potentially resulting in unnecessary bankruptcies. So says Arc Pensions Law partner Jane Kola, who, along with Society of Pension Professionals president James Riley, warn about the potentially dire consequences and call for more clarity from the regulator. More cheerfully, this inauguration day episode also covers the future of actuaries, small pots, and Donald Trump’s pension.
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OpinionPension professionals yet to reach consensus on ESG monitoring best practice
The overall interest from pension schemes in tackling environmental, social and governance risks is up significantly from where it was just a year ago, writes Society of Pension Professionals president James Riley, but the industry is split on how to monitor and judge progress.
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Mercer launches DB master trust as demand for consolidation increases
Mercer has launched a new defined benefit master trust promising sponsors enhanced governance and economies of scale, amid an accelerating trend towards consolidation and outsourced solutions, with pensions minister Guy Opperman stating that “bigger is better”.
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News
Ombudsman decision sets financial loss precedent
A recent Pensions Ombudsman determination has opened the floodgates for financial loss claims resulting from the mere possibility of missing out on stock market profit, due to trustees being tardy in processing transfers.
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News
Covid-19 adds £10bn to inflation woes
As the government’s consultation to make changes to the retail price index draws to a close, the impact of aligning the inflation measure with the consumer price index including housing costs has increased by £10bn due to the pandemic.
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News
Industry leaders’ plea to ministers over FCA advice trap
Leaders of pensions industry representative groups have written a joint complaint to government ministers over new guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority, which they warn could see helpful trustees deemed to be giving regulated financial advice.
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Industry bodies lobby government to change insolvency bill
Pensions industry bodies are lobbying the government to make changes to the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Bill, which unless revised will “inevitably lead to more pensioners not receiving their benefits in full and greater strain on the Pension Protection Fund”.
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OpinionIndustry must not be defeatist on dashboards
Paul McGlone’s last op-ed as president of the Society of Pension Professionals sees him make an impassioned plea not to abandon hope and impetus behind the dashboards project, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to solve the industry’s engagement problem.
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News
DB schemes to face major data exercise for dashboards
New requirements to translate defined benefit pensions into an annual income in today’s terms could mean trustees and administrators face a major data exercise to comply with the pensions dashboards, according to experts.
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News
Professionals support switch to CPIH with no compensation
On the go: More than a third of pension professionals support a switch from the retail price index to the consumer price index incorporating owner occupier housing costs with no compensation, new research shows.
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News
Auto-enrolment process creates 'employee underclass'
Three out of four pensions professionals say employers should be free to statutorily enrol any employee they wish, even if current auto-enrolment age and earnings criteria are not met.
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OpinionNew year, new attitude to ESG compliance?
Happy New Year, the world is burning. While readers will doubtless have tried to take a step back from work as the second-hottest year in recorded history came to a close, it will have been tougher to disregard footage of Australia’s south-east being engulfed in flames.
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News
Trustees sitting on hands over ESG investment
On the go: A new survey has raised serious doubts as to whether pension funds will take meaningful action in the short term on sustainable investment issues, despite new regulations coming into force in October.
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News
Lancashire hails portfolio's positive impact on local area
The Lancashire County Council Pension Fund, which has invested £200m in its local community since 2013, has become an industry trailblazer amid growing interest in social impact investments.
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PodcastsPodcast: A closer look at DB consolidation
Podcast: Last month, the government published a consultation on the consolidation of defined benefit pension schemes. What is the outlook for DB superfunds? And what should trustees consider if they are thinking about switching from a sponsor covenant to a consolidator covenant? In this episode, Alex Hutton-Mills, managing director at Lincoln Pensions, and Paul McGlone, president of the Society of Pension Professionals, discuss the consultation and whether early adopter nerves are holding back inflows to the new DB consolidators.
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Government fires ‘starting gun’ on superfund deals
A government consultation published last week will allow the UK’s commercial defined benefit consolidators to press ahead with their first deals, it has been claimed, although some experts say questions remain over how the businesses can be prudently regulated.
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FTSE 100 DB risk drops nearly a quarter
The aggregate risk across FTSE 100 defined benefit schemes has fallen to its lowest level in four years, according to research that seeks to integrate covenant and investment risk.